Inside The Time 100 Party

It’s arguably the most exclusive magazine party of the year. (Graydon Carter‘s Vanity’s Fair Oscar party perhaps being the other.) John Edwards mingled with John Mayer. Sir Richard Branson (just back from dogsledding in Alaska) commandeered the corner of the bar like a Virgin spaceship, and allowed Henry Kissinger to ride co-pilot. Craigslist’s Craig Newmark chatted up Wikipedia’s Jimmy Wales. New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick walked through the cocktail hour unrecognized. Michael J. Fox, too, virtually unnoticed, chatted with Elizabeth Vargas near the glass window overlooking Central Park. Arianna Huffington was noticed. (Line uttered in every pre-dinner conversation: “Is that someone? It looks like someone, I don’t know … do you?”)

But as much firepower as there was at last night’s Time 100 party at Jazz at Lincoln Center, just 36 of the 100 to make 2007’s “most influential people in the world” list made it, and there were plenty of notable no-shows: No Obama. No Borat. No Queen of England. Rosie. No Leo. No Gore. No Timberlake. No Tyra.

But impassioned speeches — delivered over dinner by Elizabeth Edwards, Brian Williams, Bloomberg (with an ode to late Boston Celtics’ exec Red Auerbach — huh?) Branson and others — and a three-song set by Mayer more than made up for the relative lack of A-listers.